Its gone, gaayab, hoitu!

Most 30+ Indians would surely remember this one – “Its gone, gaayab, hoitu,…” the historic pain relieving line in various Indian languages that became synonymous with the brand Amrutanjan – the ubiquitous pain relieving balm found in every home, making it a heritage brand. After more than a century of pain relieving, the brand has now donned greasepaint and all we can say is, its gone.

Official Speak: (The Logo is) Nature’s Essence symbol (which is) a blend of health, science,nature and youthfulness to increase the brand’s appeal across all demographics. Cursive typography (is used) to bring in modernity for easier brand recall and youth connect. (The positioning)“Pure Healthy Essence” is nature and science combined to give healthy beauty.

Designed by Bangalore-based Shining Consulting (Shining Emotional Surplus), this rebrand has the trademark Shining stamp all over it. Somehow, I have never been able to get myself to appreciate this particular style of visual representation. Its a personal feeling, but perhaps others share a similar feeling too.

The new identity fails on two fronts – strategy, and creativity.

A rebranding initiative needs to assess existing weaknesses & strengths first up, and then purge those weaknesses while capitalizing on the strengths. This rebranding surprisingly brings out no erstwhile strength whatsoever. Rebranding does not necessarily mean having to start on a fresh sheet of paper. Even minor tweaks can produce great and lasting results.

Some fixated ideas and preconceived notions seem to be at work that completely killed the old identity. The weapon used is a multi-colored ‘young look’. It replaces the supposedly dull yellow and green colors. That to me was a a very impressive combination, and yet soothing. Here was an opportunity to literally own that combination, as part of the brand’s overall identity.

And the old wordmark in an archaic enclosure wasn’t the most creative, but was still emphatic. It certainly boasted of a great brand recall. The enclosure has been replaced with a circular one, filled with imagery of merging hues of blue, orange and green among others, and is called the Nature’s Essence symbol. It supposedly blends health, science, nature, and youthfulness. I find the combination not just dull but meaningless too. What does youthfulness have to do with a pain relieving balm? If anything, experience counts more here. At any rate, the end result does not look like it will appeal to the young. And the brand name in cursive writing is utterly weak. Cursive writing can also make for some great brands, as shown by Cadbury. But this wordmark lacks in style and looks pale.

Amrutanjan was supposedly losing out in the market to newer brands and wanted to regain its share. With this strategy and execution, it appears a pain reliever may be required soon.